Hands are for helping, not hurting

When I was doing my student teaching in college, I heard a sweet, patient kindergarten teacher say to her students, "Hands are for helping, not for hurting." 

It was such a simple statement, easy to say and remember, and it has stayed with me throughout the years.

In our house, I've used that statement many times, but let's be honest. There are only so many times that you can say it calmly or sweetly, unless you're medicated.  And most of the time, their hands are used for hurting when the sweet cherubs are in an enclosed environment....say, the van.
What's a mom to do, when she's flying driving down the interstate going 80 70 and the four kids in the back are doing God knows what to each other????

Tell them to sit on their hands.

You heard me.  I tell those kids to sit on their hands.  Yes they whine and complain saying things like, "it hurts", but that's when I calmy say, "Hands are for helping, not for hurting, right?"
Bam.  Got 'em.

I have a 'shpiel' for everything!

I wish I could explain how I feel about some of my friends. The world likes to take people's expressions and contort them and twist them into mutations of the original thought.

I was on Facebook just a few minutes ago looking through some pictures that an old college friend posted. They were of her, her partner, and their triplets. As I commented and "liked" a few of them, I thought, "I wish the world could see that a conservative Christian can wholeheartedly and truthfully 'like' and even 'love' a friend and their pictures, even if they are gay." That doesn't mean that I am a hypocrite or don't stand for my beliefs or anything besides the fact that I like my friend and think her kids are adorable.

As the mother of 4, 1 of which is in high school and another just a breath away from being a teenager, I have to have my "shpiel" ready when the kids have questions about topics that are touchy in the world's eyes. Being gay just happens to be one of them. It's touchy in the worldy world, the Christian world, the churchy world, and the home world. So here's my 'shpiel'.

I don't believe that people are born "gay". But, I do believe that every person is born with tendencies, talents, gifts, things to overcome, and personal temptations.
I believe that any kind of sexual or sensual involvement with the same gender is a sin. But so is lying to someone about what their butt looks like in that awful pair of jeans, sharing answers on a test, talking badly about someone else behind their back, taking office supplies from work, not claiming all of your income on your taxes, etc. And I'll be honest, I've done many sins in my life, today, this hour and will continue to sin throughout my whole life. The good news is that as a Christian, I know that I am forgiven and I will always continue to try to sin less and less.

I don't believe that the guy I saw at Kroger the other day, with the feminine mannerisms and lisp, is gay. I don't believe that the guy who likes to cut or play with hair, design clothes, arrange furniture, cook, or dance ballet is gay either. I do believe that he might have feminine characteristics, or enjoy doing something that the world might consider a feminine occupation, but that doesn't mean that he wants to have sex with another man. I also believe that if that guy feels unaccepted by the heterosexual or even so called Christian world and is consistently called "gay" or taunted, teased, etc, that he might feel like he fits in with the gay community and is finally accepted there. Therefore taking on the traits of that lifestyle.

I also believe that girls can love each other so strongly in the teen and young 20s years that they can be tempted by the world to assume that their love for each other must be sexual/sensual. Not so. Girls at that age, just truly rely on each other so much for advice on their life, their hair, their choice in boys, their choice in clothes, their feelings about that dragonfly they just saw, etc. Sometimes that friendly love can even become territorial or possessive and can become dangerous, I totally agree. But girls need to know that they CAN love another girl-friend whole heartedly, want to hold hands and skip together through Kroger, hug each other and be there for each other without feeling like the world is telling them just to "experiment" and "see if they like it". Would we want our kids to just "experiment" with stealing to "see if they like it" if they were curious what it would feel like to steal that beautiful and expensive sweater in their favorite store? No. If they did would that make them thieves for life? No. Is it okay to dabble in sin? No.

So. That's the short version of my 'shpiel'. I'm sure my kids would tell you it was much, much, much longer than that. :)

Listen. No one likes to be told that they are doing something wrong. No one likes to be criticized. I get it. But shouldn't that be a red flag that what you are doing just 'might' be wrong? Just an opinion. Just a thought.

For the record, I love my friends. I love to see pictures of my friends smiling, having fun; pictures of their beautiful kids, pictures of them happy.
If they can forgive me when I do things that are wrong, and still love me...then I can do the same. But I expect and hope that if they see me do something wrong, that they would love me enough to point it out lovingly and help me do the right thing.

:)
Audrey

Um...did he just say "douche-bag"?

Did he just say "douche-bag"? Yep, sure did. Here's the story:

One night on the way home from soccer practice, it was just #1 and I in the car. He had hopped in after practice and was awfully quiet. That usually means it was a rough practice. So I said nothing. A few miles down the road he blurts out, "_______ is such a douchebag!"
I think I choked on my own spit, I was so caught off guard! After regaining my composure, I asked him why this was so? He went on to say that one of the team members would say not-so-nice things about him just to make the other team members laugh.
What I said next might be controversial. I said, "yep, he sure is a douchebag."   Now hang on, I do redeem myself...a little. :)
"...but you really shouldn't call him that." was my follow on response. We went on to have a lengthy conversation about the kid and why he might be saying those things, what #1 might have done to prompt those things (because he sure isn't innocent), and what #1 wanted to do about this predicament. Thankfully, he didn't want to give up and quit the team. But he did want to punch him in the face, hard. I told him that maybe we could come up with something different, although part of me wanted to punch the kid in the face too!!
I started to tell him about a lady at my work last year. (Inside my head I knew that the last thing he wanted to hear was a long lecture about 30-40 year old women at a school, but he needed to hear the end of the story.) Here's the gist of the story:
        Last year there was a lady at my school that I just didn't click with. She didn't seem to like me much and threw me under the bus once. I didn't like her. But, I knew that I as a Christian, my job was to 'love my neighbor'. That sounds so much better coming out of my mouth to my kids than from the Holy Spirit in a convicting way.....   Anywhooo. With a not-so-happy heart, I started to pray for her last year--nothing too eloquent or in depth, but still prayed for her. Throughout the year, I intentionally was polite to her when I didn't have to be. And by the end of the year, my heart had softened towards her. We now aren't best friends or anything, but there was no festering sore or drama. That's what I wanted him to hear.
So I simply told him that even if he didn't want to hear it, my advice to him was simply to pray for the kid.
So after the next practice, he hopped in the car and I gently asked how practice had gone. He replied that it went much better and had decided to try taking a different approach with the kid--to laugh along with him and take his comments in a lighter manner than taking it so sensitively. I'm hoping he is praying for the kid too. I am.
Mom of the best 14 year old in the world (and 12 year old, 9 year old and 6 year old, too!)
Audrey

"I don't want to be part of this family!"

I think every kid has said it--"I'm running away!" or "I don't want to be part of this family!"

Well yesterday was #4's turn to say it.

Thursday is the day of being tired, in this house. At that point, we've made it through 4 days of school and 3 days of after school activities, which makes us all tired.

Yesterday was no exception. After 3 agonizing tries, 9 +9 was still = 20, on his math homework paper....and then he lost it.  I tried to calm him down, redirect, give him a minute to settle down, and threatened. That led to getting a spanking, at which point he screams, "I don't want to be part of this family!!"several times.
My response? I told him that since he didn't want to be part of the family, he needed to remove the clothes and shoes that I bought. As he headed upstairs, I gently reminded him that our family lives upstairs, so he would need to leave. Well, he did. Walked right out the front door butt-naked. I peeked out the front window, and there he was sitting on my chair on the front porch peeing.
I opened the door and gently reminded him, that the porch and lawn belonged to our family, so only we were allowed to pee on it.
He then ran to the van. I walked around the van and found him standing there, naked and crying. I asked him, if he felt a little silly standing outside naked. He said yes. I told him that even though he didn't want to be part of our family, I would be glad to share some of our family's clothes with him, so that he didn't have to be naked anymore.
So we walked inside. I started asking him if he needed to borrow anything else, like a pillow or a blanket, or maybe some money, since he didn't have any.
He sighed really loud, frowned, and said, "nevermind. I do want to be part of this family. I'm sorry."

I still can't believe he peed on my front porch.
What's a mom to do?
:)

Summertime...and the livin' is easy?

So it's summer: the kids are home, I'm home. That means-togetherness...lots and lots of togetherness.

So far, it hasn't been too bad. They are beginning to get on each other's nerves a little, but so far so good. It is helpful that #1 sleeps until noon. :)  But since we know that we only have about 8 weeks until school starts back and dad deploys, we are going to do our best to spend these weeks well.

I'll keep you updated.

I'm so sneaky!

I'm so sneaky, oh so sneaky.

Normally I am not a food-sneaker. That being said...there are 3 things that I make that I do sneak food into.
1)Chili. Whether the kids like it or not, I make chili. It's cheap, it's wholesome, it's easy to make, it's versatile. My chili is special in one more way....pumpkin. Yep, a whole can of pumpkin. Why? Well...why not? You can't taste the pumpkin. It adds a whole other layer of fiber and beta-carotene to the already good for you chili, so really it's a win-win situation.
2) Fettucini Alfredo. #2 LOVES fettucini alfredo or any other kind of alfredo. Now, while I do know how to make alfredo sauce and have made it before, it is one of the only jarred sauces I buy. Mostly because anything alfredo is a last minute meal idea here around our house. However....*cue the sneaky music....my alfredo sauce has pureed great northern beans in it. I take my handy dandy wand mixer and puree up a can of great northern beans and add it right to the Alfredo sauce. Why? Fiber. Lots of fiber. We've got to keep these kids regular!!
3) The infamous weight watchers chocolate muffins. 1 box Devil's food cake mix. 1 can pumpkin, 1/2 cup chocolate chips (who are we kidding....it's more like 1/2 the bag!) Mix first two, add the chips, bake in either a 9x13 pan to make brownies or muffin tin for muffins. Why? Fiber, baby!!

Make sure you've stocked up on toilet paper and then get to cookin'!
:)
Audrey

Is Sex Bad?

Last night at youth group, they had the last talk in a series on Love and Dating.  It was concluded by a time of Q & A. Questions that the youth had anonymously turned in over the course of the month. As I was talking to #2 (my only girl-11years old and in 6th grade) this was our conversation:
Me: Were there any questions that you want to talk about with me?
#2: No, they really explained everything well.
Me: ok.
#2: Well, there was this one. It was, "Is sex bad?"
Me: What do you think?
#2: Well, they said it was created by God, so it can't be bad, but Satan has twisted it to make it seem bad.
Me: Yeah. They are right. Think about when Adam and Eve were in the garden, and God commanded them to be fruitful and multiply. If he wanted there to be lots of people on the earth, and the only way to make a person was through sex, then do you think he would make it un-fun, like getting a root canal, or donating your left kidney??
#2:*giggles* no...
Me: Right! So sex has to be fun and feel good, so that people will do it and fulfill the commandment to be fruitful and multiply.
#2:*gross face*
Me: It's like ice cream.
#2: *huh??? face*
Me: Ice cream is great, right? Is eating ice cream ever wrong??
#2: yeah if you're on a diet.
Me: ha-ha. But seriously, is it every wrong?
#2: only if you tell us not to.
Me: exactly. If I buy ice cream and tell you that it's for your birthday, so please don't eat it until then, and you eat it before your birthday, then it's wrong. It's a sin, because you disobeyed, right?
#2: right.
Me: but if you wait until your bday to eat the ice cream, then it's not a sin, right?
#2: right.
Me: now, if you eat the ice cream before your bday, you will still probably get ice cream on your bday too, but it won't be special anymore. It would just be ice cream again. But if you wait until your bday for the ice cream, then it's special. You've obeyed too, so you can enjoy your ice cream without any guilt or shame. Sex is the same. If you wait until your married, then you can have sex without guilt or shame. But if you don't wait to be married, then you have disobeyed and it's wrong. You'll still have sex when you get married, but it won't be as special as if you had waited. Does that make sense?
#2: yeah.
Me: Let's keep going with the ice cream theme...it is one of my favorite foods! Let's say we were really poor and had never had ice cream before. But we saved and saved and eventually bought some vanilla ice cream. You loved that vanilla ice cream. And that was the only kind you ever tried...Well, until the day you died, anytime someone mentioned ice cream, you would always think about that vanilla ice cream and it would be the best ever. But....let's say you had vanilla, but then you also tried rocky road, then a gross sorbet thing, and then chocolate cookie dough. Then if someone talked about ice cream, your mind would go to all those different kinds that you had tried. AND each time you tried a new flavor, you would be comparing it to the other kinds you had tried. It's kind of like sex. If the only person you are ever with is your husband, then sex with him will be the only thing you think about and same about you. But if you have sex with more people than your spouse, then your mind will go to all those other people you had been with. That is why sex was designed to be with only your spouse when you get married. Does that make sense?
#2: Yes. Why do all your analogies go back to ice cream??
Me: I'm hungry. :)



:)
Audrey

Wake up sleepy heads!

Every school morning, #1 and #2 get up first and get on the bus. Then I have 20 minutes before #3 and #4 need to wake up. The last two are not easy to wake up....unless it is Saturday morning, but that's another story. I've tried going in their rooms and waking them up nicely, speaking softly, turning on their light, speaking loudly outside or inside their room, taking the covers off, singing....you get the picture. They fight me tooth and nail. They whine, ignore me, pull the covers over their heads, whatever they can do to get another wink or two of sleep.
But today I tried a different approach.
I walked into their room, turned off their fan (we use it for white noise) and sat down in their quiet room and began to play with their toys. I took a bucket of little army men and lego men and began playing with them--taking them apart, putting them back together, etc. After one minute, #3 sat up and looked at me and said, "What are you doing?" :)  Then he sat down beside me and told me about each and every lego guy. During this, #4 sits up in bed and looks at us to find out what's going on and who is playing with toys!
He comes on down from his top bunk and tells me about one or two of the guys also. After a minute or so, I asked them to get dressed and brush their teeth, and then we went downstairs for breakfast. It was such a calm beginning to the day!
~~I might try this technique again tomorrow, but with different toys. We'll see if it works 2 days in a row!
:)
Audrey

Hair is not a moral issue

When my kids were little, and I was still idealistic, one of our neighbors had teenagers. I was shocked that she had let her sons wear their hair so crazy--colors, length, etc. (Keep in mind that we are military, and were living on an Army base where kids' hair is usually kept to military standards. :)
She said some wise words that have stuck with me over the years--Hair is not a moral issue....the heart is.

Wow. She and I went on to have a discussion about how to discover if the hairstyle (color, length, etc) is being influenced by a heart issue (rebellion, specifically) or just a normal teenage desire to try new things, fit in, etc.

I have "pondered these words in my heart" for several years. And beginning last year (7th grade), I finally had a chance to put feet to those words. #1 decided he wanted to grow his hair out. Some would say it was to be like Justin Bieber....no. It's not about being like J.B., but it is about fitting in, being noticed, wanting to look different than you did in elementary school.
Those wise words were so helpful to hubs and I as we waited patiently and supported #1 with haircuts that were "trims", just to adjust the shape and finetune the evolving style. I was so proud of my husband for being willing to stick this one out.
Last week, #1 made the middle school soccer team. When he saw the final list online, he first went to facebook and posted it...but THEN he came into the kitchen and annouced that he wanted to get a haircut...a real haircut. He said the hair gets in his way when he is trying to play soccer. When hubs got home, I relayed the message as calmly as I could, while inside I was grinning from ear to ear that our child had just made a huge decision all on his own. :)
We took him to get his haircut and hubs and I stood there watching as all 6 or 7 inches of hair fell to the floor. I was so proud. Proud of him making the team. Proud of him making the decision on his own to get a haircut. Proud of his dad for not needling his decision or telling him "I told you so". Proud that #1 is open enough with us to feel like he can change his mind and try new things without us berating him or belittling him. Just plain proud.
So...here's the before:

And here's the after:

:)
Audrey

Spit happens

My husband spits sometimes. It grosses me out, but he does it outside. When my boys do it inside or on one another, that is a totally different story.
Last year, I found out that 2 of my boys (#1 and #3) had spit on each other, while being hateful to each other. I was livid. So I made them sit on both sides of the trash can and spit for 10 minutes.

A month or so later, #3 spit again. This time he had to spit at the can for 20 minutes.
I really thought we had fixed the problem...until last week.
We brought along a neighbor's kid to church with us on Wednesday night. In the van on the way home, I heard the kid say that #3 had spit on him. Oh, no he didn't! Yep, he did.
So after a profuse apology to the kid, and I dropped him off at his house, we went home. #3 sat and spit, and spit, and spit.... until I had enough. (no photo taken this time, I was too mad!) We moved from there to another form of discipline, since it was discovered that he lied about the reason for the spitting....
I am not naive enough to think we've solved this problem, but I sure am hoping that it doesn't happen again for a long time. Until then....spit happens.
:)
Audrey

The Wienermobile

If I could go back 50-60 years, I think I would ask Mr. Oscar Mayer (or whoever began the company) to please reconsider naming his hot dog creation-- the wiener. And more pointedly, not having a contraption called the wienermobile. 
The Wienermobile, the one and only by the way, came by the Richmond Hill Kroger this week. Of course the kids wanted to go see it.
This begun an entire day of wiener jokes. "Can I touch your wiener?" was probably the most embarrassing, as it was asked of the Oscar Mayer representative who was standing by the wienermobile giving out stickers and coupons.

But seriously. If you're going to have a food called a wiener, drive a mini-coop shaped like a wiener, give out stickers that say something about seeing the wienermobile....do you really need to also give out silly bands shaped like a wienermobile and whistles shaped like a wienermobile??
*Sigh*
Bright side: lots of laughter, smiles, jokes and family fun--albeit not the cleanest of fun!
:)
Audrey

Kid's Activity that's Fun, Safe and Sterile!

For this post, I am removing the hat of "mom" and putting on the hat of "music teacher". 

This classroom activity worked so well, I just had to share it.

My classes of Kindergarteners, First Graders and Second Graders, can sometimes be a little...rowdy. They really need to expend energy when they come to music class. And sometimes they can't keep their hands to themselves. So I usually have them marching around the classroom or moving to music in other ways, but even then they struggle to keep their hands to themselves.

Enter the Kleenex. 

Each student took 2 tissues, one in each hand, I turned on some awesome music and we moved to music--safely and fun-ly. (Is that even a word?)  The kids loved it. It was very similar to using scarves, but the tissues were disposable. (Can I get an Amen from all the teachers who bathe in hand sanitizer everyday?)

The biggest plus-es were:

1. keeps both hands busy

2. if they do try to hit each other with them...they don't hurt!

3. easy clean up

4. sterile

There were so many things that they discovered and learned with the tissues, I could go on and on....maybe another time.

So next time you have a group of little guys that need to get some wiggles out and keep their hands to themselves, grab a box of Puffs and go to it!

*one of my favorite classroom bulletin boards I copied from one on boardsgalore.com

:)

Audrey

While the cat's away...

This week, hubs is TDY to Fort Drum. You would think I was a 16 year old teenager whose parents have left her home alone for a few days! I've been eating junk food, staying up late, watching any movie I want to watch. It's really not a good thing!

Staying up past midnight and getting up at 6am is definitely starting to catch up to me...zzzz...

My camera was kid-napped again

Evidently, this time the camera was kid-napped in order to take pictures of a stuffed animal fashion show. 

I wondered why things were so quiet upstairs!

*ooh, a little lighting to set the mood!

*A very patriotic cheetah.

They are definitely getting more artistic with their photography. I especially like the staging with props. It sorta reminds me of an Olan Mills studio.

:)

Audrey

How to fill 9 days with fun!

Since the kids had 9 days off from school, I had 9 days to fill with fun. One thing that was on my agenda was going to the beach!

Hubs had to work on Mon, Tues and Wed of last week, so the kids and I went to Tybee Island all by ourselves; and this is why. My husband hates the beach. He hates sand, he doesn't like the water, he hates sand, he gets nervous with the kids in the water and he hates sand.

 #1 actually  wrote "I <3 my mom" in the sand...then the tide came in. :)

  I, however, love to play in the sand, walk in the sand, dig my feet as deep as I can in the sand, write in the sand, etc. So what better time to go then while sweet husband is busy. :)

My mom also gave us a Family Fun magazine, full of easy and fun craft projects to do together. So we tried a few of them.
Sweet #2, made this wreath from a wire hanger and box of fold over sandwich bags.

*She did an amazing jog, didn't she!!

Together with my mom and Grandma, we all made this polymer clay nativity scene and creche.

For Thanksgiving itself, we hosted at our home. So the kids were each in charge of their own dish(es) to be in charge of: locate the recipe, make the shopping list, make the dish,etc.
Kid #1-Mashed Potatoes and chocolate cream pie
Kid #2-Apple Crisp, and pie crusts for pumpkin pie and chocolate pie, and the pumpkin pie filling too.
Kid #3- relish tray and homemade french bread
Kid #4-cranberry sauces

It's amazing what kids will do when you set expectations and give them freedom to achieve and/or fail. If we don't give them opportunities to fail something under our watch and guidance (and love paired with acceptance), then when they get out in the real world and fail at something they won't have any frame of reference on how to deal with it.

It is that kind of resourcefulness and perseverance that I am so thankful of...even thankful enough to write it on a leaf for our "Thankful Tree". (which will be converted soon to our Jesse tree)

#1 actually wrote Nutella on one of the thankful leaves. crazy kid. I must buy too much of that stuff!

After the Thanksgiving meal and 2 days playing Uno, Scrabble, Upwords, Apples to Apples, Spoons, and Trivial Pursuit with Nana, Papa and Grandma, we packed up and headed to my uncle's house for lunch and then 2 days at my sister's house. I love my sister and her family. The cousins get to hang out, we get to hang out, it's a win-win situation!

 *you can see the clay nativity scene and creche on the mantle behind our heads!

*check out the fingerless gloves #2 is wearing. Stylin'!

 *My sister and me.  Words can't express how much she means to me.

Whew! It was an absolutely fun 9 days. Now we're back to the daily grind, which is also something to be thankful for.
:)
Audrey

Thankful to look ahead

Ever have a whirlwind week? I had 2 back to back. They were amazing, fun, exciting and over!
Two weeks ago, I was featured on Naptime is My Time (it is in this post, just down a little ways). Then we had Thanksgiving break, which was 9 days long with the kiddos. That was so fun (more to come on that in just a bit), then the actual Thanksgiving Day and weekend, filled with food, my parents, my Grandma, and then my sister and her family. I have to say that as a military family, we are so blessed to finally live close to family. Only 3-4 hours from everyone! Ahhh-mazing. :)
So let's start with the Naptime is My time post:

Thanks, Emily, for letting me share with everyone today.  You have earned this well deserved vacation!

I am Audrey, from One Shoe Parenting. I am an Army wife, mom to 4 kids (5, 8, 11 and 13 years old), an elementary music teacher and run my household on a tight budget. Sometimes I am left to parent alone (due to military matters) and that always brings about interesting moments...


Like the moment we were in a Home Depot store and my then 4 year old decided to throw his shoe at me---again. We left the store, left the shoe at the store and went home. He was stuck with only the one remaining shoe for the rest of the summer vacation  (1 1/2 weeks), until he could wear his new preschool pair of shoes...hence the name, One Shoe Parenting.


With all these sweet kids, come many teachers. Since the Holidays right around the corner, there are many opportunities for giving gifts to the teachers. Here is a great gift idea that won't break the bank!


I used pillar candles from the dollar store...

Grosgrain ribbon remnants....

And leftover upholstery tacks.

Voila! Snazzy gifts, for just over $1. 

 

**the leaning tower of candles! :)
That makes this momma happy!

 Well that wraps it up for me, hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and feel free to drop by One Shoe parenting sometime! :)
:)
Audrey

Later today, I'll write up about our Thanksgiving break and Thanksgiving weekend. For now though, I'm off to get #3 and #4 on the school bus and then break out the Christmas Decorations!

Have a great day everyone!!!

 

My first Guest-Posting~~

**Announcement**
Today is my very first guest posting over at  Naptime is My Time!

I was so excited to be chosen to fill in for Emily while she takes a break.  As I was preparing my post, I learned several things:

1. I am not a "nap time" crafter anymore, since all the kids are at school. *that makes me just a bit sad.
2. Since all the kids are at school (with 2 in middle school) I do not get a chance to get on the computer as much as I used to.
3. Blog Verbage (button code, html code, etc) go way, way above my head, and I have to google them all just to find out what they mean.
4. If you buy dollar store candles to use in a guest craft post and leave those candles around, your house full of boys will use them as "grenades" and throw them at each other enough to make them look like "distressed" candles.

But in the end, the post was completed on time, the candles were used carefully or replaced, the post was completed in between kids' turns on Webkins/Addicting Games/GAVS/pbskids.org/poptropica, and best of all, it is now Thanksgiving break and time to spend time with all my family!

Hop over to Naptime is My Time and check out my spot!

Happy Thanksgiving!
:)
Audrey

Free Furniture plus improvements

My sister gave me this solid wood, black side table this summer. She didn't have a use for it, so she gave it to us. I couldn't find a spot for it, but knew that it was very sturdy and I didn't want to part with it.

I was reading Sew Many Ways one day a few months ago, and she was writing about one of the tables in her craft room that she raised to counter level by adding finials to the bottom of the legs.

So at roughly $3 a piece, we bough 4 fence post finials from Lowe's (with a gift card....woohoo!) and got to work.

After drilling holes in the center of each of the legs,

I screwed the finials in and spray painted them black.

This is what it looked like:

Not to bad, eh?

This isn't the finished product, though. The vision I have for this table is to create a new larger table top and eventually make it into another dining room table for our formal dining room. For now, it is a great two-seater table or project table in the front room. 

:)

Audrey

Multi-kid Laundry Organization Tip

As a mom, when I sort the clean clothes into stacks for the kids, I know 99% of the time what clothes belong to which kid. 

As for Hubs...not so much. The worst part is, that was his reason for not wanting to help fold Mt. Washmore twice a week. He would say, "I don't know what belongs to whom".

So here was our solution.

We used sharpie and marked #1's clothes with a 1.

Respectively marked #2's with 11,

 #3's with 111 

and #4's with 1111.

This way, when #1 out grows a shirt/shorts/pants, all that must be changed is adding another 1.

It makes it sooo much easier to sort the laundry!

:)

Audrey

Daddy Day Care

Since my kids were little, most interesting stories began with the phrase, "well, their dad was watching them and..."  Sometimes that phrase ended with a story about an injury, sometimes an unbalanced meal, sometimes a misplaced child, (just kidding.)   :)  .   

On Friday, #3 had to go have an endoscopy early in the morning in Savannah. (Everything was fine, he did great, I was a wreck.) So Hubs had to get #4 up, fed and on the school bus. 

After #3 and I got home, and he was resting, I checked my email. This is the email I received from #4's teacher:

Mrs. Ayers,

Matthew is wearing rain boots today…with spurs (I have taken the spurs off and put them in his book bag), no socks, and  both boots are right footers. I thought you’d like to know.  
                                    Mrs. Leahy 

I put this on facebook and the funniest reply was from someone who wrote:

Did you say, "at least he had shoes. I have been known 

to punish my children by not letting them wear a shoe." hehehehe  

I just had to laugh!

:)

Audrey